YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
WeeKLy edITIOn
noVemBer 1-7, 2023 Vol 45 No 44 | 1 Section | 6 Pages
Seaboard, Dioxane not significant factors at PTRWA The water quality coming from the Eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant and the operation of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority (PTRWA) have been in the forefront of the minds of many Jamestown residents in recent months. At the Oct. 23 Town Council meeting, Gregory Flory, executive director of PTRWA, and Robby Stone, public services director for the City of High Point,
addressed the Council to possibly dispel concerns. “These are the experts in their field,” said Jamestown Town Manager Matthew Johnson. “They understand their subject matter very well and they are going to present that information to us this evening.” “Jamestown currently owns a 2.5 percent stake in PTRWA,” Flory said. That number sounds small but it amounts to 1.2 million gallons (MGD) per day. Another 0.775 MGD of treated drinking water is available daily. With the
expected development by D.R. Horton along Guilford College Road, PTRWA expects Jamestown to take an additional allocation. “PTRWA is currently delivering 0.625 MGD of the Town’s water through Greensboro and High Point’s systems,” said Flory, who oversees the treatment plants. “Ownership of the water transitions from PTRWA to other partners when it leaves our pump station. “We still monitor water
Photo courtesy City of High Point
eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant
see PTRWa, PAGe 2
Baseball team already planning for spring season
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By nORMa B. dennIs FreeLANCe WrIter ndworddesign@gmail.com Winter sports have barely begun but the Ragsdale High School baseball coaches are already looking ahead to the 2024 spring season. The playing field is being put in order and dugouts are receiving needed repairs. Tryouts for the team are in February and the first game is at the beginning of March. In addition to regular season competition, coaches have planned special tournament play for the baseball team from March 23-29. “We do a trip each year, but this year we are going to Florida,” said outfield coach Mike Holder. “We will play three games against some quality teams. It will be a positive spring break the players can remember forever.” To help pay travel expenses, as well as support the school’s baseball program, the team is sponsoring a Tiger Pancake Sup-
Submitted photo
The spring 2023 Ragsdale High school baseball team included, left to right, front row – Cole Moebius, deandre Henderson, stephen sierra and Chase Miller; middle row – dillon Bullard, Rylan souther, Tyler Petty, Braden Bradford and Jaxson davis; back row – Coach Jim Rembach, deshaun Coyler, Josh Medlin, Owen Robinson, Garrett Crum and Coach donnie Maness. per Nov. 18 from 5-8 p.m. at Jamestown Presbyterian Church on Guilford College Road. Varsity players will help cook and serve and JV players will bus tables. Another opportunity to back the players will come in the future through a social media fundraiser – WeFund4u.
The baseball team, which plays in the 4A division, had many successful years in the past, going to several playoffs and attending the State Championship in 2006. “The team had not been excellent for a while,” Holder said. “But since this year’s seniors came
on board four years ago it has been exceptional. “This entire four-year block of players have been fantastic and with it has come success. “The seniors have reestablished us, brought us back to be competitive. see BaseBaLL, PAGe 2
New golf course policies approved By CaROL BROOKs FreeLANCe WrIter cab1hp@gmail.com In Jamestown Golf Course and Park business, Golf Course Superintendent Jamey Claybrook reported the new bathrooms on the course should be ready soon. The new golf maintenance building should be ready in about a month. Work on the dam on one hole will force the temporary closing of half of the course. During this closing, other maintenance items will be attended to. Golf Pro Marcy Newton presented three policy items to be amended, the Complementary Play Policy, Facility Use Guide and Tee Time Reservation Policy. The Council unanimously approved these changes, with minor changes. (See Parks and Recreation, Oct. 11 Jamestown News, Golf course staff asks for changes for complete information on these items. All proposed amendments may be found in the Oct. 2 Parks & Recreation Committee packet at https:// www.jamestown-nc.gov/mygovernment/meeting-minutesand-schedules.) Newton also proposed a new Golf Course Event contract. Staff usually create tee sheets, cart signs, scorecards, etc. for these
events and must be notified eight days in advance of the event if the agreed-upon number of players changes. If a group rents the entire course but has a significantly lower number of agreed-upon players show up to play, the course will be opened to other golfers. Groups with fewer than the agreed-upon number of players will be charged for the final guaranteed number given. In her quarterly report, Newton reported use of the golf course did not slow down in July, which was not normal. Usage was up 24 percent over the previous year. August and September rounds were up as well. “The number that is crazy to me is the driving range,” Newton said. “We brought in $33,000 at the driving range the first quarter. It’s hard to compare that to 2022 because we shut the range down for the renovation the end of August. $33,000 is quite staggering for a driving range for three months.” Concessions brought in $26,000. There were 10 outings scheduled in September. Staff changed the front and back nines in August, so the former No. 1 hole is now No. 10. Parks Superintendent Scott Coakley proposed some Uniform Park Rules. The major change
is in the Picnic Shelter Use. While shelters are available on a first come, first served basis for groups of 20 or fewer at no charge, advanced reservations are encouraged. Coakley suggested a $50 deposit, refundable after use if park employees see no damage. Other changes also were proposed. All the proposed amendments and changes for the golf course and park were approved unanimously. The golf course/park proposals may be found in the Town Council agenda available at https:// www.jamestown-nc.gov/mygovernment/meeting-minutesand-schedules. In other business: • In other business, the Council awarded the following contracts for services: Historic Jamestown Society $10,500; Jamestown Youth League (JYL) up to $10,000; Ragsdale YMCA up to $10,000; and Jamestown Public Library $64,000. HR Analyst Karen Strausser presented the Employee Incentive Bonus Program Policy. Councilmember Lawrence Straughn had suggested a bonus plan. “The purpose of the Employee Incentive Bonus Program is to see COUnCIL, PAGe 2
LOCAL RESIDENTS APPOINTED TO GOVERNOR’S ADVISORY COUNCIL Jamestown residents Jodie Stanley and Maria J. Mayorga were among 27 individuals recently appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs by Gov. Roy Cooper. They will serve two-year terms on the board. The council was established in 2017 and includes representation from many communities, including Afro-Latino and Latin American Indigenous communities. It provides policy recommendations and advises the governor on issues specific to the Latino community in North Carolina. Members are divided into subcommittees and provide policy recommendations with the aim of improving Latino representation in government. Each appointed member is a leader of the Hispanic or Latino community who has worked with the community in N.C. in different sectors — such as language access, immigration and health equity. Stanley was appointed as a member at large and vice-chair. She became Greensboro’s first International Support Coordinator in September 2022. In this role she fulfills the needs of immigrants and refugees from around the globe who reside in Greensboro. Mayorga was appointed as a member at large. She has a demonstrated history of working in the nonprofit and leadership development field and is skilled in communication, event management, public speaking and fundraising. She works at Blueprint NC. Have an event that you think needs to be included in About Town? Email Norma B. Dennis at ndworddesign@gmail.com or Carol Brooks at cab1hp@gmail.com
time for a change By nORMa B. dennIs FreeLANCe WrIter ndworddesign@gmail.com Once again the nation is faced with a time change – going from daylight saving to standard time at 2 a.m. Nov. 5. The old saying “fall back, spring forward” is an easy way to determine which way the clock should be set. So in November, clocks should be moved back, “fall,” one hour. It is easy enough to reset the time one hour before you go to bed so you do not have to get up in the middle of the night to make the change. For example, if you go to sleep at 11 p.m. Nov. 4, set your clock at 10 p.m. before climbing into bed and when you get up the time will be correct. A problem arises if you forget some clocks, watches and computers automatically reset themselves during the night. If you change the time on these yourself before going to bed and they reset on their own during the night, your morning time will be off by an hour, which can be confusing. Changing the time on clocks is not really that difficult. The problem is getting our internal clocks to adjust to the difference. It might take two weeks or more to reset our bodies into a new rhythm. There have been some efforts to stop the twice-yearly clock
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switches with bills and resolutions to establish a year-round daylight saving time. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, introduced a billed called the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022. It would permanently extend daylight saving time for the entire year. The Senate approved the bill, but it has not been passed by the U.S. House or signed into law by President Biden. A 2023 version has only made it as far as the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. N.C. House Bill 326, which would adopt DST year round, was introduced in March in the state’s General Assembly. It passed the house in May, but stalled in the senate. Nineteen states have passed similar resolutions to go to a yearround daylight saving time, but that can only happen if Congress allows the change. If nothing happens, in the early morning hours of March 10, 2024, we will spring forward into daylight saving time once more.
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By CaROL BROOKs FreeLANCe WrIter cab1hp@gmail.com